"Fundamentals of the Jewish Faith" (Ch. 1, Part 3)

"Fundamentals of the Jewish Faith"

An adaptation of Rabbi Moshe Chaim Luzzatto’s Ma’amar HaIkkurim

-- Rabbi Yaakov Feldman's series on www.torah.org
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"Fundamentals of the Jewish Faith"

Chapter One: G-d (Part 3)

It follows then that whenever we speak about G-d we're forced to use metaphor and simile rather than say things straight out, Ramchal points out. That's to say, we use words to depict Him, to be sure, but they're inexact because there's simply no choice.

Now, that's a decidedly unscientific way of doing things, but common enough in our experience. It's somewhat like trying to describe your reactions to an idea you'd come upon that you found to be profound and very galvanizing because of who you are and what you've been through, but which wouldn't mean as much to others. Suppose, for example, you came to learn that you were adopted.

You could describe yourself as being thunderstruck and keeled over by the idea, for example; or report that your heart pounded and your head throbbed when you came upon the news, your jaw dropped, you suddenly became of cold and quiet, etc., and that would help explain how moved you were by the discovery. But no one other than you could put the pieces together and come to know as well as you how revolutionary and eye-opening a discovery that was for you.


That is, you could describe how you felt when you learned it, or perhaps even suggest that others imagine themselves finding out that they'd been adopted, but you could never express the profundity of that discovery in your own life to anyone. In much the same way we can describe G-d's effects on the cosmos, or draw analogies to Him in our own experiences, but we could never describe G-d Himself (as only He could do that).

For as Ramchal puts it, "our language only refers to the natural and finite world" and we have no other choice but to speak of such things. But G-d is transcendent of all that, so we simply don't have the vocabulary to refer to Him. The lesson that we should draw from that is that whatever we say about G-d is inexact if not out-and-out wrong, but we're impelled to speak of Him in order to understand what He asks of us in this world, and that we should keep this idea in mind at all times.

(c) 2007 Rabbi Yaakov Feldman and Torah.org

(Feel free to contact me at feldman@torah.org )

********************************
AT LONG LAST! Rabbi Feldman's translation of "The Gates of Repentance" has been reissued at *at a discount*!
You can order it right now from here
Rabbi Yaakov Feldman has also translated and commented upon "The Path of the Just", and "The Duties of the Heart" (Jason Aronson Publishers). His new work on Maimonides' "The Eight Chapters" will soon be available.
Rabbi Feldman also offers two free e-mail classes on www.torah.org entitled
"Spiritual Excellence" and "Ramchal"

ON THE OCCASION OF RAMCHAL’S 300th BIRTHDAY (Part 3)

Part Three: Klach Pitchei Chochma (“138 Openings to Wisdom”)

1.

Klach Pitchei Chochma is one of those Ramchal-works that’s unheard of by most but highly treasured by his enthusiasts for one and the same reason: because it expounds on and spells out Kabbalah fully and profoundly. We’ll touch upon its Kabbalistic elements in the course of this essay to be sure but we won’t delve into them at length since that’s beyond this forum.

In fact, Klach (as we’ll refer to it here, as many do) is a work within a work. For Ramchal wrote an argument for the study of Kabbalah -- that also acts as an introduction to -- entitled Ma’amar HaVeichuach (“A Discourse [that serves as] The Argument”), In it Ramchal set out to lay out what’s important about the study of Kabbalah for those already well-grounded in other areas of Torah-study. He supplied three mechanisms within that work for the beginner to approach Kabbalah.

The first mechanism was a terse and succinct laying-out of the key Kabbalistic principles in ten short chapters. (It was later published as a separate work entitled Klallot HaIllan (“The Principle Elements of The Tree [of Life]”).) The second – and third – mechanism is Klach itself. We term it the second and third mechanisms within the larger work because Klach is comprised of two parts: 138 essential principles of Kabbalah set out straight, and a full explanation of those principles which Ramchal himself provided for the sake of clarity. So, again, what we have is a large work, along with two (or three) others within it, that all set out to explain Kabbalah.

Ramchal wrote several other such works of Kabbalistic principles, but what sets Klach apart from the rest of them is this. We’re told (by Ramchal, which has been corroborated by the Vilna Gaon and several others of their ilk) that The Holy Ari’s Kabbalah system is fraught with symbolism and is not to be taken literally. If that’s the case, then what was The Ari actually talking about anyway? Ramchal set out to explicate just that in Klach (and elsewhere as well, though not as succinctly).

That’s to say that Rabbi Shimon Bar Yochai provided us with an breathtaking, mysterious gift (the Zohar) which he set in a beautiful locked box so as to keep it safe; The Ari provided us with the key for the box (i.e., his own writings), but when we unbolt it we’re struck by the fact that the contents themselves can’t be make sense of (“They’re stunning?” we’d say, “… but what do they mean?”); but now, thanks to Ramchal’s Klach we can fully appreciate Rabbi Shimon Bar Yochai’s bequest.

2.

Here’s something of a list of contents for Klach. It starts off with certain rather open and above-board subjects, and then becomes increasingly esoteric after a short while. So, for example, the first three of the 148 Openings are entitled: “G-d's existence, His will, and His reign”, “G-d only wants to bestow goodness, (and so) even wrongdoing is a means by which He bestows goodness and by which His sovereignty is made manifest”, and “The ultimate goal of creation is to bestow G-d’s ultimate goodness upon His creatures” respectively. It soon goes from there to, “The make-up of the sefirot and what the Infinite meant to reveal through their contents”, “The [spiritual makeup] of the twenty-two letters [of the Hebrew alphabet]”, “Primeval Man and his gleam”, “[How] The Beard discloses the administration of Chadar by means of the Three Crania” and the like.

There are other, less esoteric (albeit complex) subjects under discussion as well, including Adam and Eve’s downfall, The World to Come, faith, Divine judgment, the seven days of creation, form and matter, the Jewish Nation, death, the function of mitzvot, the righteous, and the like.

We’ll now delve somewhat into the gist of the first Opening.

3.

Let’s first explore a telling statement Ramchal makes early on there.

“Kabbalah” he claims, “is first and foremost meant to exhibit the truth of the [Jewish] faith”. His point is that what Kabbalah does so well is explain why we believe what we do, and by implication, why we do what we do as Jews. In other words, it’s the backdrop to G-d’s theatre set out right before our eyes; a parting of the great screen that allows us insight into ultimate truth.

“It [also] comes to explain” he adds, “how all … [of creation] materialized out of the Supreme Will” rather than out of sheer nothingness and at random. “It [likewise] shows how everything is governed as it should be”, rather than by chance, ”by G-d” alone; and all “so as to bring the entire cycle of creation to perfection in the end.” How dazzling a statement of purpose and Divine intention!

He also makes the following vital declaration. “We’re not talking about G-d Himself whatsoever” in this work, instead we’ll be “discussing G-d’s Will alone, which is all-powerful and limitless” since “we’re [only] permitted to speak of it.” That’s to say that whatever we touch on in this work has only to do with G-d’s wishes for the universe – not with Himself. This is a profound and extraordinary idea which comes down to the following. G-d Himself -- as He is in His Being, utterly beyond all things having to do with space and time, which define our universe -- is thus utterly unfathomable. His wishes, though, can be fathomed (because He wants them to be). And so understand that all of Kabbalah as well as all of Jewish Thought only touch upon G-d’s disembodied wishes. A world of things could be said about this, but space will not allow.

4.

Be that as it may, the first Opening’s overarching statement reads as follows:

“The Infinite’s Sovereignty … lies in the fact that only His Will exists, and that no other will exists other than through Him. And so He alone is in control …. The entire structure is built on this foundation.” This is clearly a profound statement of G-d’s overarching presence in the universe and of the extent of His reach. But it’s a rather difficult statement to understand (and to abide, frankly, it’s that stunning). We’re forced to offer only the following details.

Ramchal begins to explain the notion in his comments thusly. “G-d's sovereignty is the foundation of [the Jewish] faith and the root of wisdom”. Hence it’s the first thing to be covered.

The gist of the matter is that, “just as we’re to believe … that only G-d’s existence is imperative” -- that G-d is the only Being who must exist for anything else, and that everything and everyone else is utterly expendable, “so too must we believe in the absolute nature of His power and will.” That “just as His existence is imperative … while everything else derives from Him -- so too, His will and power are imperative”, which is to say that only “His power [and will] alone holds sway, and all other wills exist only in synch with this Will.”

And the idea that, “the entire structure is built on this foundation” means to say that “everything brought into existence by G-d” hinges upon the fact and knowledge of G-d’s overarching sovereignty.

May G-d grant us all the wherewithal to appreciate His presence in our midst!

(c) 2007 Rabbi Yaakov Feldman and Torah.org

(Feel free to contact me at feldman@torah.org )

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AT LONG LAST! Rabbi Feldman's translation of "The Gates of Repentance" has been reissued at *at a discount*!
You can order it right now from here
Rabbi Yaakov Feldman has also translated and commented upon "The Path of the Just", and "The Duties of the Heart" (Jason Aronson Publishers). His new work on Maimonides' "The Eight Chapters" will soon be available.
Rabbi Feldman also offers two free e-mail classes on www.torah.org entitled
"Spiritual Excellence" and "Ramchal"

Eight Chapters (Chapter Seven, Part 5)

“Spiritual Excellence” with Rabbi Yaakov Feldman

Our Current Text: Moshe Maimonides's (Rambam's) “Eight Chapters”

-- Rabbi Feldman's on going series for Torah.org

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"Eight Chapters"

Chapter Seven (Part 5)

Now, "don't be surprised by the fact that some personal failings would lessen the quality of one's prophecy" Rambam offers, since "some character flaws -- like anger -- actually withheld it", he points out.

The crux of the matter is that while each failing acted as a "screen" or impediment to G-d's Presence, some proved to be so excessive, such instances of personal imbalance, that they acted as out-and-out obstacles to it. One such trait was anger -- which is understandable, since angry people can't be trusted to convey what they'd been told truthfully, as their anger would undoubtedly color their understanding.

But there were other traits that would act that way, too. Rambam mentions worry and anxiety specifically. After all, our forefather Jacob's Divine inspiration left him while he mourned for (i.e., worried about) Joseph‚ after the latter was brought to Egypt.

Understand of course that someone who'd always be angry or worrisome couldn't be a prophet in the first place, since he wouldn't be the sort of even-tempered and emotionally healthy person that Rambam said a prophet would have to be.

Nonetheless the point for us is that while we're not prophets, so G-d's full Presence is more often closed off from us than not, we too could allow Him into our lives more so if we'd improve our characters. And given that our main thrust in life is to comprehend G-d Almighty as much as a human being can, as we were told in Ch. 5, it stands to reason that rectifying our characters is essential to our achieving spiritual excellence.

(c) 2007 Rabbi Yaakov Feldman and Project Genesis

(Feel free to contact me at feldman@torah.org )

********************************
AT LONG LAST! Rabbi Feldman's translation of "The Gates of Repentance" has been reissued at *at a discount*!
You can order it right now from here
Rabbi Yaakov Feldman has also translated and commented upon "The Path of the Just", and "The Duties of the Heart" (Jason Aronson Publishers). His new work on Maimonides' "The Eight Chapters" will soon be available.
Rabbi Feldman also offers two free e-mail classes on www.torah.org entitled
"Spiritual Excellence" and "Ramchal"

ON THE OCCASION OF RAMCHAL'S 300th BIRTHDAY (Part 2)

Part Two: His Works

Although he's best known for Messilat Yesharim ("The Path of the Just") and Derech Hashem ("The Way of G-d), Ramchal authored dozens and dozens of significant works in his short life. We'll cite them now in chronological order (with thanks to R' M. Shriki's Ohr HaGanuz) and offer a thumbnail description of each.

Ramchal wrote a play at age 16 (in 1723) entitled Ma'aseh Shimshon ("The Story of Samson") based on the life of the mighty Samson. At age 17 (1724) he wrote Lashon Limudim ("A Tongue for Teaching" [see Isaiah 50:4]) a text on the art of rhetoric, metaphor and style. At age 20 (1727) he wrote 150 chapters of an original book of psalms, as well as a poetic work entitled Migdal Oz ("A Tower of Strength") with Kabbalistic references in the form of an allegory.

A number of works were composed in 1729 when Ramchal was 22, some of which were directly dictated by the Maggid or at least inspired by his revelations. They include Zohar Kohelet ("The Zohar to the Book of Ecclesiastes") which was 3000 hand-written pages long (!) but hasn't been uncovered since; Shivim Tikikunim ("Seventy Tikkunim"), which parallels the seventy Tikkunei Zohar, but while the latter were 70 interpretations of the very first verse of Torah, Ramchal's work interpreted the very last Torah verse); Zohar Tinyanah ("A Second Zohar"), which no longer exists; and Klallot Haillan ("The Principle Elements of The Tree [of Life]"), a synopsis of the Ari's basic work of Kabbalah, "The Tree of Life", comprised of 10 pithy, Mishna-like chapters.

He composed quite a number of short discourses when he was 23 (in 1730) including Ma'amar Hashem ("A Discourse on G-d"); Ma'amar HaMerkava ("A Discourse on The Chariot"), which explicated Ramchal's understanding of Ezekiel's great mystical vision; Ma'amer Shem Mem-Bet ("A Discourse on the 42 letter Name [of G-d]"); Ma'amar HaDin ("A Discourse on [Divine] Judgment"); Ma'amar HaChochma ("A Discourse on Wisdom"), that focuses on Rosh Hashanna, Yom Kippur, and Passover from a Kabbalistic perspective; Ma'amar HaGeulah ("A Discourse on The Redemption"), which is available at www.torah.org/learning/ramchal/archives.html; Ma'amar HaNevuah ("A Discourse on Prophecy"); Mishkanei Elyon ("Exalted Towers"), a Kabbalistic understanding of the Holy Temple with a depiction of the third Temple's dimensions; Ain Yisrael ("The Well of Israel") whose contents are unknown but which is assumably a collection of Aggadic literature in the style of the classic work, Ain Yaakov ("The Well of Jacob"); Milchamot Hashem ("The Wars of G-d"), which defends Kabbalah against its distracters; and Kinnaot Hashem Tzivakot ("Ardent [Defenses] for The L-rd of Hosts"), which offers details about the redemption and the Messiah.

At age 24 (in 1731) he wrote a commentary to one of the most arcane corners of the Zohar known as Iddrah Rabbah ("The Great Threshing Room", reflecting where it was revealed) which has been come to known as Adir Bamarom ("[G-d is] Mighty on High" [see Psalms 93:4]); and Iggrot Pitchei Chochma v'Da'at ("Letters [to Serve] as an Opening to Wisdom and Knowledge"), meant to spell out and explain certain erudite principles of the Jewish faith according to the Kabbalah.

In 1732 he only wrote one work: Sefer Daniel ("The Book of Daniel"), an esoteric commentary to this Biblical work.

Ramchal wrote both Tiktu Tephilot ("515 Prayers") that focused on prayers for the revelation of G-d's sovereignty (which is the underlying theme in all of his writings to one extent or another); and Kitzur Kavvanot ("Abbreviated Intentions") which allows the reader an overview of the Ari's recorded prayer-intentions, in 1733 at age 26.

He was especially productive at age 27 (in 1734), having written Ma'amar HaVechuach ("A Discourse [that serves as] The Argument ") that pits a Kabbalist against a rationalist as each tries to defend his way of thinking (the Kabbalist wins, by the way); Klach Pitchei Chochma ("138 Openings to Wisdom") one of Ramchal's most important works in that it lays out his thinking about the symbolic nature of the Ari's writings and Ramchal's own explanations of those symbols; Areichat Klallot HaEilan ("A Dictionary of The Principle Elements to The Tree [of Life]") the context of this is actually unknown but it could be assumed that the title is self-explanatory; Klallim ("Principle Elements") a series of short and pithy presentations of the main principles of the Kabbalistic system said outright; Da'at Tevunot ("Knowing the Reasons"), a work that explains several of Maimonides's 13 Principles of the Faith according to Kabbalah; Peirush al Midrash Rabbah ("A Commentary on Midrash Rabbah") that isn't Kabbalistic so much as symbolic; plus an additional 40 or so works which we've lost track of.

At age 29 (in 1736) he wrote Derech Hashem ("The Way of G-d"), a succinct laying-out of the fundamentals of the Jewish faith touching upon mankind's obligations in this world and its relations to G-d, which is also available at www.torah.org/learning/ramchal/archives.html ; Ma'amar al HaAggadot ("A Discourse on Aggadah") which is an explanation of how to understand Aggadic literature in a serious manner; and Ma'amar HaIkkurim ("A Discourse on the Fundamentals") a short and succinct laying-out of the fundamentals of the Jewish religion like "The Way of G-d" that touches upon certain other themes, which is in-process now at www.torah.org/learning/ramchal/archives.html .

Ramchal wrote Derech Chochma ("The Way of Wisdom"), which serves as a dialogue between a young person and a sage with the latter setting out a lifetime course of Torah study culminating in the study of Kabbalah, in 1737 at age 30; and Vichuach HaChocham V'HaChassid ("The Argument between The Sage and the Pious Man") which is actually a first draft of Messilat Yesharim that only resurfaced recently, the following year at age 31.

Messilat Yesharim ("The Path of the Just"), his most famous work that enables its readers to grow in piety step by step, was written when he was 33 (in 1740), as well as Sefer HaDikduk ("The Book of Grammar"; Sefer HaHigayon ("The Book of Logic") that lays out the correct way to think and analyze; Ma'amar al HaDrasha ("A Discourse on Homilies") that encourages the study of Kabbalah and Mussar; Sefer Hamalitza ("The Book of Style") that offers the art of accurate writing and expression; and Derech Tevunot ("the Way of Understanding") which explains the Talmudic way of thinking.

His last work (that we know of), was composed in 1743 at age 36. It's entitled LaYesharim Tehilla ("Praise be to the Upright") and its a poetical work.

A trove of other poems, prayers, letters, and comments upon numerous Torah verses were written by him at various stages as well.

(c) 2007 Rabbi Yaakov Feldman and Torah.org

(Feel free to contact me at feldman@torah.org )

********************************
AT LONG LAST! Rabbi Feldman's translation of "The Gates of Repentance" has been reissued at *at a discount*!
You can order it right now from here
Rabbi Yaakov Feldman has also translated and commented upon "The Path of the Just", and "The Duties of the Heart" (Jason Aronson Publishers). His new work on Maimonides' "The Eight Chapters" will soon be available.
Rabbi Feldman also offers two free e-mail classes on www.torah.org entitled
"Spiritual Excellence" and "Ramchal"

Da'at Tevunot (Section 2, Chapter 1)

... has been completed and can be found at ...

Toras Ramchal

"Fundamentals of the Jewish Faith" (Ch. 1 Part 2)

"Fundamentals of the Jewish Faith"

An adaptation of Rabbi Moshe Chaim Luzzatto’s Ma’amar HaIkkurim

-- Rabbi Yaakov Feldman's series on www.torah.org

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"Fundamentals of the Jewish Faith"

Chapter One: G-d (Part 2)

Yet, G-d chose to interact with us. So He elected to be known -- to some degree -- so that we could refer to Him, serve Him in more palpable ways, and thus draw close to Him. Because it's simply impossible to interact with an unknowable entity.

Thus, in our limited scope and frame of reference, G-d can best be described as being "the Master of everything in existence", who "created everything" specifically "when and how He wanted to", who "sustains everything for as long as He wants", and "rules over everything with complete authority", as Ramchal puts it.

What "the Master of everything in existence" means to say is that G-d alone is responsible for everything throughout the cosmos and that nothing happens without His input into it. It also means that He's accountable for everything, meaning that the answer for every question always comes back to His place in it, as He alone is the cause of, impetus behind, and the ground under everything.

He alone "created everything", for while we humans fashion, elaborate upon, bounce off of, and rethink things (albeit in oftentimes stunningly fresh ways), only G-d created anew. And He did that "when and how He wanted to", neither before or after He decided to, following neither a formula or a schedule but truly independently. He "sustains everything for as long as He wants" in that if He no longer wants something to exist it simply disappears (along with all traces of it, if that's what He prefers), and He "rules over everything with complete authority" implying that His word is the first, middle, and last one.

Understand again, though, that all that only describes Him in relation to us, and to the extent that we can depict Him. It says nothing about Himself, before we came upon the scene. But let's go on.

G-d is also said to be an "utterly perfect being with absolutely no imperfections". That means to say that while we're all limited to one degree or another and of fixed scope, G-d is not. Unlike anything or anyone else, G-d "depends on nothing or no one" for anything, and is "affected by no one or nothing", in that His will and movements are utterly free and they need not answer to anyone or anything.

"He is without beginning or end" Ramchal continues, explaining that to mean "that He didn't (suddenly) come into existence after not existing, and He will never cease to exist". And that while He is "the direct impetus behind everything and everyone", nothing or no one brought Him about.

G-d "is not a composite" or multiplicity of elements or component parts (since if He were, then He'd be divisible and thus subject to imperfection); rather, His being is "without structure and utterly simple", sheer and unalloyed.

And finally, nothing that is true of anything or anyone else is true of Him since He is without form, content or structure, is above space and time, and is subject to no natural laws.

Understand that this is all very heady stuff and oftentimes hard to grasp. Suffice it to say that it comes down to the fact that while He is unknowable unto Himself, as we said, as best as we can depict Him, He is perfect, eternal, all-knowing, and all-powerful. Take that to heart and you can't help but be drawn to Him in love and awe, and that's what's required of us at bottom.

(c) 2007 Rabbi Yaakov Feldman and Torah.org

(Feel free to contact me at feldman@torah.org )

********************************
AT LONG LAST! Rabbi Feldman's translation of "The Gates of Repentance" has been reissued at *at a discount*!
You can order it right now from here
Rabbi Yaakov Feldman has also translated and commented upon "The Path of the Just", and "The Duties of the Heart" (Jason Aronson Publishers). His new work on Maimonides' "The Eight Chapters" will soon be available.
Rabbi Feldman also offers two free e-mail classes on www.torah.org entitled
"Spiritual Excellence" and "Ramchal"

ON THE OCCASION OF RAMCHAL'S 300th BIRTHDAY (Part 1)

Part One: His Life

1.


There are certain lives that are inherently captivating, and Rabbi Moshe Chaim Luzzatto's was certainly that. Born in Paduah, Italy in 1707 to wealthy parents, he took to literature and Torah studies early on. In fact, that early interest in literature served his writing style well throughout his life, and his Torah studies formed the basis of his literary output.

He obviously mastered all of Tanach, Talmud, and all sorts of rabbinical commentaries and halachic codes, as one can see by his profuse and authoritative quotations from traditional sources throughout his writings. And he also acquired a profound command of Kabbalah since he was known to have memorized all the writings of the Ari when he was 14.

Rabbi Moshe Chaim Luzzatto (known as Ramchal) was a student of one of the greatest rabbis and kabbalists in Italy at the time, Rabbi Yeshaya Bassan, from early on to age 15, when Rabbi Bassan left Paduah to fill his father-in-law's rabbinical position. Rabbi Bassan's father-in-law was the great Kabbalist Rabbi Binyamin HaKohen, who was himself a student of the famous Kabbalist, Rabbi Moshe Zacuto. So Ramchal's teachings clearly followed the path of a well known kabbalistic tradition. Ramchal himself had a couple of profound meetings with Rabbi HaKohen at the end of the latter's life in which he discussed his own Kabbalistic insights. We'll cite one of Ramchal's revealing letters to the elder kabbalist shortly.

At age 17 Ramchal joined a small, clandestine group of pietists known as "Mevakshei Hashem" (Seekers of G-d). Among the things they demanded of their members, aside from devout and altruistic allegiance to Torah study and mitzvah observance, was that each member commit himself to a set and inviolable study-schedule that was solely dedicated to the well-being of the Jewish Nation and to "Tikkun HaShechina" (the rectification of the Divine Presence in the world). The entire group most especially concentrated on an around-the-clock study of the Zohar, with each member taking his turn, and the next in line starting his course of study some 15 minutes before the previous ended his (as the one following him started *his* study session 15 minutes beforehand) to ensure a sure flow of study. Ramchal received semicha (i.e., he was formally ordained) at age 19, while yet a member of Mevakshei Hashem.


2.


The phenomenon that most especially defined his life was the series of times that a Maggid (a Heavenly Agent) appeared to him and provided him with direct instruction, starting at age 20. While the experience itself was personally uplifting and enlightening, and allowed Ramchal the sort of profound insights that affected his works (and even provided the very wording in several instances), it also lead to the great and terrible polemic that plagued him for years and nearly closed off his works from us.

We'll quote now from remarks a student of Ramchal's (Rabbi Yekutiel Gordon) made in a letter about some of these appearances to a leading Italian rabbi, when Ramchal was 22.

"There is a young man here, tender in years, (who) is a holy man: my master and teacher ... Rabbi Moshe Chaim Luzzatto. For these past two and a half years a Maggid has appeared to him ... who reveals wondrous mysteries to him .... With the approval of the Holy One, blessed be He and His Shechina, the Maggid ordered him to compose a Book of the Zohar, called in Heaven 'The Second Zohar' ....

"This is what happens (when the Maggid, referred to here as "the angel", appears). The angel speaks out of Ramchal's mouth but we, his disciples, hear nothing. The angel begins to uncover great mysteries to him. Then my master orders Elijah to come to him, and he comes to uncover mysteries of his own. Sometimes, Metatron, the great prince, also comes to him, as well as the Faithful Shepherd (i.e., Moses), our forefather Abraham, Rabbi Hamnuna the Elder, ... the Messiah, and Adam ....

"To sum up, nothing is hidden from him. At first permission was only granted (from Heaven) to reveal to him the mysteries of the Torah, but now all sorts of things are revealed to him. But no one outside our circle knows of it .... As he has demonstrated to all, no one before him has had this kind of merit since the time of Rabbi Shimon bar Yohai (the author of the Zohar)."

Ramchal himself spoke of the revelations, among other things about himself, in one of his letters to Rabbi Binyamin HaKohen, whom we'd cited above.

"The L-rd who is righteous and who searches all hearts is my witness in Heaven and my testimony on high as to why I have kept (my revelations) secret from your honor .... But now that the matter is public knowledge ... I am very pleased to hear that you know of it ... (and) I am especially glad to know that your honor, in his goodness and integrity, accepts it as true and reliable ....

"G-d-fearing people come to me every day to hear the new things that G-d tells me. Many young men who had once walked in the vain ways of young people have now, thank G-d, ... returned to G-d, and come to me to receive Tikkunim (rectifications) for their (past) deeds.

"At this time G-d ... wished to reveal a new light (to the world) in the category of the Zohar .... He chose me for this in His mercy. If you were to ask me about the kind of preparations (I engage in to deserve this), what could I say? The truth is that it has come about through G-d's love alone and has little to do with my preparations for it. Nonetheless, it is also true that I have been zealous for years about reciting Yichudim (mystical recitations of particular Divine Names). I perform a different Yichud practically every fifteen minutes, and I do this even now, thank G-d .... And the Creator now uses me as the instrument for the fulfillment of His purpose."

He then went into further detail as follows:

"On the first of Sivan in the year 5487 (1727), as I was reciting a certain Yichud, I fell into a trance. When I awoke, I heard a voice saying: 'I have descended in order to reveal the hidden secrets of the Holy King'. For a while I stood there trembling, but I soon took hold of myself. The voice kept on speaking and revealed a particular secret to me.

"At the same time on the second day I made sure to be alone in the room, and the voice reappeared to reveal another secret to me. One day he revealed to me that he was a Maggid sent from Heaven and he gave me certain Yichuddim that I was to recite in order for him to appear again.

"I never saw him but I did hear his voice as it spoke though my own mouth. He then allowed me to ask him questions. After about 3 months he revealed to me the Yichuddim I would have to recite to be worthy of having Elijah reveal himself to me. He then charged me to compose a work on Ecclesiastes on the basis of the mystical meaning of its verses that he had revealed to me, and Elijah came and imparted his own secrets to me. (The Maggid) said that Metatron, the great prince, would be coming to me and that I would know that it is he because of what Elijah had said. From then on I came to recognize each of my visitors. Souls whose identity I know are also revealed to me. Each day I write down the new ideas each of them imparts to me. All these things happen while I lie prostrate, with my face to the ground, and I see the holy souls in human form as in a dream."


3.


Word of these revelations came to the Rabbinic leaders of the time, and while many of them were effulgent in their praise of the young Kabbalist, some others (of great prominence) were flabbergasted by the idea of so young a person being privy to such revelations, and they did all they could to stifle him.

As dumbfounding as the thought of denying Ramchal's brilliance and the level of his revelations appear to us now, it was rooted in something quite rational. For only some 100 years before the false messiah Shabbatai Tzvi (d.1676) had wreaked havoc throughout the Jewish world, and nearly undid the foundations of the Faith, G-d forbid. The entire Jewish community was still reeling from that in Ramchal's time, and beyond. The whole matter is a subject unto itself, but suffice it to say that the leaders of Ramchal's generation were rightly leery about a new false messiah and any more subsequent threats to our people.

Some rather unkind things were said about Ramchal, though his defenders did laud his trustworthiness as well as his piety. A great deal of Ramchal's correspondences from the time and afterwards have survived and it's thus evident that despite and throughout it all, he defended his experiences stoutly while maintaining his lofty perch. In any event, threatened with excommunication, Ramchal swore not to transmit the Maggid's revelations or teach Kabbalah.

He left Italy for Amsterdam In 1735, and while passing through Germany he appealed to the rabbinical authorities there to advocate for him to the Italian rabbis. They refused and instead forced him to sign a statement denouncing his own experiences. Most of his writings were burned, though some did survive.

He was able to pursue his studies of kabbalah relatively unhindered while in Amsterdam, and was accepted as a great man there. Earning a living as a diamond cutter, he continued writing but refused to teach. It was in this period that he wrote his magnum opus Messilat Yesharim (The Path of the Just), as well as Derech Hashem (The Way of G-d), Da'at Tevunot (Knowing the Reasons), and more.

A major rabbinic near-contemporary who praised Ramchal's writing was Rabbi Eliyahu of Vilna, the Vilna Gaon (1720-1797), the most authoritative Torah sage of the time as well as a great kabbalist. He was reported to have said after reading The Path of the Just, that were Ramchal still alive, he (the Gaon) would have walked from Vilna to learn at his feet. The Holy Maggid of Mezritch (Dov Bair, the successor to the Baal Shem Tov) also praised the "Chassid of Paduah" and his works to the Chassidim. And to this day Ramchal is praised from all corners of the Jewish world as a great mystic, moralist, teacher, tzaddik, and writer.

He left Amsterdam for Israel in 1743 and settled in Acco. Three years later, he and his family died tragically in a plague, and he was buried near Rabbi Akiva in Tiberias.

May the memory of the righteous be a blessing for us all!

(c) 2007 Rabbi Yaakov Feldman and Torah.org

(Feel free to contact me at feldman@torah.org )

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AT LONG LAST! Rabbi Feldman's translation of "The Gates of Repentance" has been reissued at *at a discount*!

You can order it right now from here

Rabbi Yaakov Feldman has also translated and commented upon "The Path of the Just", and "The Duties of the Heart" (Jason Aronson Publishers). His new work on Maimonides' "The Eight Chapters" will soon be available.

Rabbi Feldman also offers two free e-mail classes on www.torah.org entitled
"Spiritual Excellence" and "Ramchal"

Eight Chapters (Chapter Seven, Part 4)

“Spiritual Excellence” with Rabbi Yaakov Feldman

Our Current Text: Moshe Maimonides's (Rambam's) “Eight Chapters”

-- Rabbi Feldman's on going series for Torah.org

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"Eight Chapters"

Chapter Seven (Part 4)

We're now back to the point at which we'd started this chapter, with a discussion about what differentiated one prophet from another and the role that character played in it.

Rambam makes the point that a prophet “had to have acquired all the intellectual virtues”, meaning to say that he had to be bright, sharp-witted, and scholarly. But he would only have to have acquired “*most* of the more significant” personal virtues, not all of them. That means to say that while he had to have been a good and moral person by all means, he wasn’t expected to be perfect.

He had to have been content and satisfied with his lot in life, we’re told, rather than troubled by this and that. And he had to be in control of his inclinations overall. But he wasn’t expected to “have all the personal virtues and be utterly devoid of flaws”.

After all, “G-d appeared to Solomon” (1 Kings 3:5) at a certain point in a prophecy, yet Solomon was known to be indulgent. And King David was certainly a prophet as well, yet we know that he was cruel to a degree. (In fact, G-d didn’t allow him to construct the Holy Temple himself because of that.) And we learn that Elijah the prophet expressed anger now and then; and that the prophet Samuel was fearful (of Saul), as was our forefather Jacob (of Esau).

Yet the individuals we’re talking about were prophets and thus achieved a personal rank that Rambam referred to as “great” in his introduction to this work. How could they have been subject to such traits?

Rambam's point is that while these were certainly character faults, still and all they weren’t fatal flaws. They were an indication or two of humanity, of less than perfection, but understandable. (There are certain character failings that are more problematic, though, as we'll see.)

Nonetheless, these and other such traits were termed "screens", in that they blocked off the individual prophet's connection to G-d. And any prophet exhibiting two or three of the sort of unbalanced traits we'd focused on before (see Ch. 4) was said to see G-d from behind two or three screens. Thus, personality played a major role in differentiating one prophet from another.

We'll explore Moses's character in that light, too.

(c) 2007 Rabbi Yaakov Feldman and Project Genesis

(Feel free to contact me at feldman@torah.org )

********************************
AT LONG LAST! Rabbi Feldman's translation of "The Gates of Repentance" has been reissued at *at a discount*!
You can order it right now from here
Rabbi Yaakov Feldman has also translated and commented upon "The Path of the Just", and "The Duties of the Heart" (Jason Aronson Publishers). His new work on Maimonides' "The Eight Chapters" will soon be available.
Rabbi Feldman also offers two free e-mail classes on www.torah.org entitled
"Spiritual Excellence" and "Ramchal"

You Know How It Is ...

I just got a new computer,and the job of switching from Mac to PC is becoming daunting. Please forgive the delays here ...

ON THE OCCASION OF RAMCHAL'S 300th BIRTHDAY

[This is being mailed out on my behalf to my torah.org subscribers.You're welcome to subscribe, though the series will run here, too. YF]

Monday, May 14th 2007 (the 26 of Iyar 5767) is being celebrated as the 300th birthday of Rabbi Moshe Chaim Luzzutto, known as Ramchal. There will be special celebrations in Jerusalem, Israel; in Padua, Italy where he was born; and on various on-line sites.

Rabbi Yaakov Feldman, who conducts Project Genesis's "Ramchal" series (as well as "Spiritual Excellence") and has written extensively on Rabbi Luzzatto's works, will be offering a special four part weekly series entitled, "A View of the Tzaddik and His Works: in Celebration of the Ramchal's 300th Birthday" in celebration.

The first installment will be mailed out on May 14th 2007 itself and will be comprised of a biography of Ramchal, the second will offer a short description of his many works, and the third and fourth will focus in succession on two lesser known works of his: Klach Pitchei Chochma ("138 Gates of Wisdom") and Da'at Tevunot ("Knowing The Reasons") by describing them and granting us insight into them.

Those already subscribed to "Ramchal" and "Spiritual Excellence" will automatically be sent the series, while all others who want to can receive it by sending a blank e-mail to subscribe-ramchal@torah.org .

"Fundamentals of the Jewish Faith" (Ch. 1, Part 1)

"Fundamentals of the Jewish Faith"

An adaptation of Rabbi Moshe Chaim Luzzatto’s Ma’amar HaIkkurim

-- Rabbi Yaakov Feldman's series on www.torah.org
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"Fundamentals of the Jewish Faith"

Chapter One: G-d (Part 1)

It goes without saying that we rely on our mind and its perceptions for nearly everything. So if something doesn't quite jibe with our sense of what's rational, reasonable, and explicable we tend to reject it.

Yet it's also true that our minds haven't an infinite capacity (even when they're aided by the greatest of computers and joined by the finest of other minds). So it's clear that we can't always depend on our minds to arrive at the truth. In fact, there's a whole realm beyond our abilities to reason that's far richer and more varied than our own that's simply inexplicable, known as the realm of faith. And it's the one we enter into when we discuss G-d as well as all things spiritual.

For G-d unto Himself is utterly, utterly unfathomable since He's far removed from our experience and occupies an inscrutable domain that's devoid of space, time, and all the qualities of reality we know of. So we depend on our faith and our holy tradition for depictions of Him. Given the chance we could draw many analogies to Him and derive proofs for His existence from the natural world, but all of that would fall flat in the end because we'd always wind up facing the fact that G-d Himself is simply inscrutable.

We'd thus be wise to accept the fact, as Ramchal puts it, that G-d's "actual essence and makeup cannot be fathomed whatsoever", that there's absolutely nothing analogous to Him "in all of creation or in anything our minds could conceive of or imagine", and that "no words or depictions" could capture His essence.

Now, you might argue that the Torah uses all sorts of analogies for Him and depicts Him in many, many ways and you'd be right. But suffice it to say that the Torah doesn't speak of G-d Himself when it describes Him to us: it refers to Him as He presents Himself to us in *our* realm and in terms that we could understand and draw upon to understand what He requires of us.

It's been said that that's analogous to the way great geniuses present their ideas to lesser souls. If they'd lay out their thoughts as they themselves understand them, their listeners would miss the whole point, and their effort would have been in vain. But if they'd present their ideas in terms that others far less advanced than they could understand and relate to, then their ideas would be grasped for all intents and purposes. And while the latter explanations wouldn't be "true" from the genius's perspective, they'd nonetheless serve his ends, and would thus be "true enough" under the circumstances. (Understand this point well, as it helps to explain many otherwise unfathomable things.)

(c) 2007 Rabbi Yaakov Feldman and Torah.org

(Feel free to contact me at feldman@torah.org )

********************************
AT LONG LAST! Rabbi Feldman's translation of "The Gates of Repentance" has been reissued at *at a discount*!
You can order it right now from here
Rabbi Yaakov Feldman has also translated and commented upon "The Path of the Just", and "The Duties of the Heart" (Jason Aronson Publishers). His new work on Maimonides' "The Eight Chapters" will soon be available.
Rabbi Feldman also offers two free e-mail classes on www.torah.org entitled
"Spiritual Excellence" and "Ramchal"

Da’at Tevunot (Sect. 2, Ch. 1, Part 4)

"Knowing the Reasons"

A Kabbalistic Laying-Out of Who, What, When, Where, and Why

Based on Rabbi Moshe Chaim Luzzatto’s "Da’at Tevunot"

by Rabbi Yaakov Feldman
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Sect. 2, Ch. 1

4.

In order to understand why body and soul join together in the first place at conception it would help us to recall G-d's ultimate aim in creating us. It was to shower us with His Presence as a reward for all we'd done to advance ourselves and our world.

Ironically, though, He granted us one vital element of our being, a body, that's simply incapable of advancing itself spiritually, since it's so self-absorbed and in constant contact with unholiness [5], which then apparently stymies G-d's plan. So He granted us another vital element, the soul, that was hewn from the inchoate "stuff" just beneath G-d's very Throne of Glory, and is by its very makeup capable of purifying our body and making it holy.

In fact, purifying our body is the soul's major function on earth. As it itself requires no purification as it is, for it’s already pure, as we ourselves affirm each and ever day when we recite, "My L-rd! The soul you have granted me is (indeed) pure!" (Morning Prayers) [6].

In any event, the soul's purifying our body allows the body to indeed eventually bask in G-d's Presence and to thus fulfill its own raison d'etre, and thereby to be of great ultimate importance [7].
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Notes:

[5] The "body" in this context includes one's mind, personality, memories, and the like -- not just one's rank physicality.

[6] This is a vitally important point that helps explain the soul's place in this world. For as Ramchal pointed out in "The Path of the Just", "G-d ... breathed into us a soul so exalted and distinguished -- a soul greater than the angels themselves" that it's manifestedly out of place in this world. What it's meant to do then, in fact, is to ready the body for the place in the World to Come that both will enjoy.

Hence, the soul isn't sent here to perfect itself, as many mistakenly believe, but rather to better the body (and its other elements cited in note 5 above).

[7] We raised this question early on, "Since we’re imperfect to begin with -- what is it that enables us to perfect ourselves? ... there must be something somewhere in the system that enables us to achieve perfection" (the end of 1:1:5), and we can now answer it. It's our soul's ability to purify us (i.e., our body, etc.) that enables us to perfect ourselves and to achieve ultimate perfection (see R' Friedlander).

It's essential to realize that this ability that we can draw upon -- the soul's ability to purify the body -- is actually a function of the "body", i.e., the self, when we make conscious choices to better our souls through Torah and mitzvot. Hence, it's a function of both body and soul and the beginning of the union of the two.

(c) 2007 Rabbi Yaakov Feldman

(Feel free to contact me at feldman@torah.org )

********************************
Rabbi Feldman's translation of "The Gates of Repentance" has been reissued and can be ordered from here
Rabbi Yaakov Feldman has also translated and commented upon "The Path of the Just", and "The Duties of the Heart" (Jason Aronson Publishers). His new work on Maimonides' "The Eight Chapters" will soon be available.
Rabbi Feldman also offers two free e-mail classes on www.torah.org entitled
"Spiritual Excellence" and "Ramchal"